College Grants for Police Officers

Looking for college grants for police officers? Today you will learn everything related to the options you have as a law enforcement personnel.

It is commonly accepted as a fact that police officers have a decent salary. Payscale.com explains that the average median annual salary for a police officer is around $47,000. This is fairly above the minimum wage. As you may have already known; grants are usually given to those who are in need, as in those who have low income. Therefore, if you are currently working as a police officer and are in pursuit of a graduate degree, then it is most likely that you won’t qualify for the government issued grants such as the Federal Pell Grant or the FSEOG grant.

List of College Grants for Police Officers

That said, there are still some scholarships options for the police officers looking to get a higher education degree. For example:

This program is administered by the National Association of Chiefs of Police, encouraging disabled officers along with their sons and daughters to pursue higher education. The minimum GPA score is 2.00, and you have to provide the current transcript and SAT/ACT scores. The scholarship offers $500 annual financial assistance that lasts for four years of college.

If you are currently a police officer and are interested to go for a graduate degree in fraud awareness, you may be eligible for this Ritchie Jennings Memorial Scholarship. The downside is that you have to be enrolled first in the graduate (or undergraduate) program to be eligible for this scholarship. Other requirements are letters of recommendation, transcripts, essays and completed applications. This scholarship may be able to significantly help you cover the cost of college because it offers big awards. There are one $10,000, two $5,000, four $2,500 and 23 $1,000 scholarships available each year.

University-based Scholarships

Some universities in the United States are in favor of law enforcement education. Since these are scholarship programs, then it is obvious that the GPA would be one of the main factors used to determine the winners. Financial condition is also a common factor considered. For example, the Sam Houston State University provides some scholarships for graduate students, undergraduate students, and freshmen who are pursuing a degree in law enforcement department in their college.

However, if you are NOT a police officer yet, and now are pursuing a degree in the law enforcement studies, then you may be qualified for various grants and scholarships available from various sources. You should fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid truthfully and the government will decide if you are eligible for the grant.

For the record, the Federal Pell grant is the most popular college grant in United States. It is a need-based grant given for the poor students pursuing a degree. There are other scholarships and grants that are meant to students in law enforcement studies, including:

Police Association Grant

There are some grants offered by the police association in various states. For example, the residents in Wisconsin area who are currently enrolled in law enforcement degrees such as police science and criminal justice are eligible for funding.

While some people say that there are college grants for police officers, we highly recommend starting looking for a scholarship instead.